When you hit that point where you have nothing left to give, it can be scary and overwhelming. After all, you may be the main caretaker in your family- the one who takes care of everything and everyone, and when you go down- there may not be good back up for you!
I have felt this way often in my life, and everyday I work with people who feel the same! As much as we want to feel like we’re invincible, life likes to remind us that we are human after all.
What Brings On That Nothing Left To Give Feeling?
When you finally hit that point where you have nothing left to give, it usually comes right after a very stressful event. You might know the toll it’s taking on you while you’re going through it, or it can catch you off guard and come as a total surprise.
Health Issues are a leading culprit of this feeling – whether it’s a cold/flu that takes you out, or another health issue, not feeling like yourself physically can easily leave you out of resources to give to anyone else! In fact, so often even trying to find the bandwidth to take care of yourself when you’re sick can be tremendously difficult!
Other culprits that can steal your ability to give or function can be big moments in life: holidays, birthday parties, work events, moves, seminars, big projects either at your home or in your work life, even vacation!
In fact, think back to some of the last times you really felt yourself crash, and I bet you’ll be able to pin point it to times and places that required a lot out of you.
Bouncing Back
It’s only natural in that case that a crash in being able to give anything comes after something has taken so much from you- that you won’t simply be able to “bounce back” to your old self, even if that would be way more convenient for you and everyone else!
This idea of bouncing back is one that I think can be so harmful, and one I’m an advocate of reframing.
When you are completely out of resources, whether it be energy, mental capacity, strength, creativity, or more, it is so important that you give yourself time to replenish those resources.
One night of sleep won’t necessarily bring you everything you need, nor will one hot meal. Depending on how depleted you are, you may need MUCH longer than is convenient in order to recover!
Recovering When You Have Nothing Left To Give
When you have nothing left to give- you have to pause and take inventory.
And before you start making all the plans and forcing yourself back on to your usual track, I’d love for you to pause and give yourself the gift of hindsight.
Think back to the last time you were sick, and what you wish you could have given yourself then as you recovered. Was it more time? More sleep? Better food? More space afterwards to rest and recuperate? More quiet time? More time to read books? Another day off of work? An extra night of your partner putting the kids to bed? Even if you feel you couldn’t have got it even if you wanted to- get very clear about what you wish you could have received.
Allow hindsight to be the insight to create this roadmap for yourself. There will always be something to do and someone (or ones) to take care of- but you are also the only person who can truly advocate for yourself. When you feel better, everything else flows better too!
This post was inspired from a longer breakdown on the Nothing Left To Give topic that was covered on this companion episode of our self care inspiration podcast, The A Bit From Within Podcast with Felicia Marti! Listen now for way more inspiration, encouragement, and ideas for resiliency when you simply have nothing left to give.
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